Your Right to Know

A coalition looking to create a “more accountable” Columbus City Council wrapped up its final
educational session last night.

The Columbus Coalition for Responsive Government, which is working to get an initiative on the
November ballot, wants to expand the council from seven at-large members to four at-large and seven
district representatives.

Its petition calls for districts that would be drawn by a nine-member apportionment board,
appointed by council members. The petition would need a minimum of 9,128 signatures to go before
voters.

“Ultimately, Columbus is going to be great because of great neighborhoods,” said Jonathan Beard,
chief executive of the nonprofit Columbus Compact development group.

Beard was at last night’s seminar at the Livingston Avenue branch of the Columbus Metropolitan
Library.

The Rev. Eric Brown of Woodland Christian Church said that with ward council members, “We won’t
have this procrastination we’ve seen with this City Council.”

John Ivanic, Columbus City Council spokesman, declined to comment.

Those in favor of it said the city has grown too much to be properly governed without a ward
system. When the city charter was adopted in 1914, the city had 181,000 residents. Today, it has
787,033.

“These neighborhoods need power representatives. ... It’s more of a club than a political body,”
said Brad Sinnott, Franklin County Republican Party chairman.

Pat Holmes is a fellow in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism Statehouse News Bureau.